Amin David, who gained a reputation as a forceful, sometimes abrasive leader of the Latino activism group Los Amigos, is stepping down after 32 years as its leader. He's handing the reins to 41-year-old Jose Moreno.

Amin David, 78, has led Los Amigos for 32 years. He says it's time for new leadership. Here he talks to members of Los Amigos during a May 11 meeting in Anaheim.

Jose Moreno, an Anaheim City School District board member, will take over as leader of Los Amigos. Moreno, 41, joined the group at 19, while studying at UCI.

ANAHEIM – Amin David, 78, the respected, outspoken and sometimes abrasive leader of a loosely formed but powerful Latino activist group known as Los Amigos of Orange County, is stepping down after more than 30 years as its leader.

David, never afraid of challenging authority, is handing over the reins of the group to 41-year-old Jose Moreno – an Anaheim City School District board member and professor of Chicano and Latino studies at Cal State Long Beach.

The selection of Moreno is a surprise to some because he could be seen as an “insider” leading a group that has led protests against governmental agencies, including city councils and the kind of school district boards on which Moreno sits.

Still, David said Moreno’s name kept coming up among Los Amigos regulars, and he believes Moreno will provide strong leadership – and, perhaps, attract “younger blood” to the organization.

“As we looked ahead for Los Amigos, we owed it to this group to think about its future,” David said. “I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish to this point, but we need new blood. And Jose is a natural.”

David, who came to the U.S. as a child from Chihuahua, Mexico, formed Los Amigos in the late 1970s after serving on the Anaheim Planning Commission and being challenged by then-Mayor Bill Thom to get more Hispanics involved in the community.

Over the years, the group has taken on issues such as ensuring fair housing for minorities, encouraging better relations between police and Hispanics and pushing for Latino representation in positions of power.

In 2008, the group led a petition drive that resulted in the resignation of Anaheim Union High School District trustee Harald Martin, who had, among other controversial ideas, authored a plan to bill Mexico for the cost of educating illegal immigrants.

David also was one of three Latino activists to sue the city of Anaheim and its then-police chief Roger Baker for keeping an internal background file on David that he said “defamed and discredited” him. David was part of a $50,000 settlement and, later, leader of efforts to establish better relations between police and the Latino community.

Los Amigos isn’t an official political-action committee or nonprofit group. It has no bylaws, no budget. The group meets once a week in an Anaheim coffee shop and follows a simple motto: “Nos Gusta Ayudar” (We like to help.)

Moreno, who joined the group at 19 while a UC Irvine sophomore, came to get help with scholarship money. Los Amigos members passed a hat and donated to Moreno back then.

Over the years he’s come and gone from the group while pursuing graduate degrees, but always admired its willingness to help those in need.

“They have no special interest other than to do the right thing for the community,” said Moreno, who is married and the father of four. “Los Amigos is here so people, all people, have a voice.”

Moreno said while Los Amigos is seen by some as being a group that likes to “take on” those in power, he is eager to take on issues by studying them and engaging in dialogue – not to just challenging power “without doing our homework first.”

But even as a school trustee, Moreno hasn’t shied away from controversial stances. Last fall, he participated in a demonstration in Anaheim to support the “DREAM Act,” a Congressional bill that would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who graduate high school in this country.

Because Los Amigos is so informal, no vote was taken on Moreno becoming the new president. Earlier this week, the 40 people who gathered for the Los Amigos breakfast heard from Moreno. He asked for their permission to lead the group.

And with a show of hands and some applause, he became its new leader.

“I don’t feel the pressure of taking over for Amin David because he’ll still be around – and he won’t make me feel like I’ve got to live up to him. He’s too easy going and supportive,” Moreno said. “He’s been a model of leadership and a great teacher.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.